Five Moves Each Brand Should Make In the Superstar Shakeup

On the RAW after Wrestlemania, it was announced that the Superstar Shakeup would be taking place for the second consecutive year.

With a year of similar matchups and feuds, both rosters—Smackdown Live especially—could use a boost to keep things fresh.

Hoping that this year’s Shakeup isn’t a repeat of Raw cherry-picking the best people from Smackdown Live and leaving the latter with scraps, here are five moves that each brand should make in the 2018 Superstar Shakeup.

1. The Miz to Smackdown

Credit: WWE.com

Now that Daniel Bryan is an active wrestler again, it’s time to give fans the feud that has been teased since 2016: The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan.

On Smackdown, The Miz re-established himself as one of the most important players in WWE, having captivating feuds with Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose. His year-long absence from the brand was a noticeable factor in Smackdown’s decline.

While The Miz has been a consistent bright spot on Raw, he realistically isn’t going to go higher than the Intercontinental Championship with the likes of Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman on the roster.

Sending the A-Lister to Smackdown not only gives the blue brand back a highly entertaining act but allows Miz to have his long-awaited feud with Daniel Bryan and possibly become a WWE Champion for the first time in eight years.

2. The Usos to Raw

WWE.com

This would admittedly be another example of Raw snagging the best components of Smackdown Live, but the move is made easier when you consider this: The Usos have done virtually everything there is to do as a tag-team on the Smackdown Live roster.

They’ve been 3-time Smackdown Tag Team Champions, had multiple show-stealing matches with The New Day and have had some form of interaction with every single team currently on Smackdown.

Splitting them up would be nonsensical considering they’ve been red hot for the last year but they could do with a move to Team Red.

A change of scenery would do two things: Give them a fresh set of tag teams to work with and give RAW’s tag team division a much-needed shot in the arm.

As fun to some and stupid to others as Braun Strowman single-handedly murdering The Bar and becoming tag champs with a 10-year-old was to watch, it’s a sign of how thin Raw’s tag team division is.

Bringing The Authors of Pain to Raw was a step in the right direction but bringing in The Usos could help put Raw’s tag team division at the forefront of Monday nights.

3. Sasha Banks to Smackdown

Credit: WWE.com

Sasha Banks has had four reigns as Raw Women’s Champion and still feels like an afterthought.

While that largely has to do with how uneventful all of her reigns were, the presence of Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax and now Ember Moon make it difficult for the Boss to shine on Monday Nights.

With her facing Bayley next week, this is likely the best possible chance for them to conclude their rivalry as any high-profile PPV matches between the two seems like a pipe dream at this point.

On Smackdown, Sasha could reignite her storied rivalry with Charlotte or even team with her against The Iconics.

Either way, a move to Smackdown would immediately get Sasha higher in the pecking order than she has been on Raw in the last six months.

4. Becky Lynch to Raw

Credit: WWE.com

Smackdown’s resident Lass Kicker needs a move to Raw for the same reason that Sasha needs a move to Smackdown.

Despite becoming Smackdown Live’s first Women’s Champion, Becky Lynch has fallen by the wayside since losing the title. Rather than be a featured contender for the Women’s title, she’s been in meaningless matches with The Riott Squad.

Moving to Raw would give the Lass Kicker new life, especially with the possibility of more NXT call-ups during the Superstar Shakeup.

5. Balor Club to Smackdown

Credit: WWE.com

Balor Club moving to Smackdown would provide immediate intrigue depending on whether AJ Styles stays on Team Blue after next week.

Aside from a replacement one-off at Tables, Ladders, and Chairs, Finn Balor and AJ Styles haven’t had a real feud. With the history of Bullet Club in consideration, a post-Nakamura storyline with AJ and Balor Club writes itself.

Finn Balor hasn’t been a constant in the main event scene on Raw since returning from injury a year ago and all Gallows and Anderson have had to show for their stint on the red brand in the past year is an excessive amount of matches with The Revival.

Sending Balor Club to the workhorse brand as a unit would immediately give themselves and Smackdown a boost.

6. Baron Corbin to Raw

Credit: WWE.com

The Lone Wolf had a killer 2016, highlighted by an underrated triple threat match against AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler.

When Corbin won Money in the Bank last summer, many people thought it was only a matter of time before he became WWE Champion. Unfortunately, he became one of the rare examples of Money in the Bank being a curse.

Since losing his cash-in unceremoniously, a forgettable run with the United States Championship is the only thing of note Corbin has done.

On Raw, he’d get to mix it up with hosses like Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman as well as potentially terrorizing Seth Rollins over the Intercontinental Championship.

7. Jeff Hardy to Smackdown

With Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt firmly solidified as a duo, it’s time for Jeff Hardy to go solo on Smackdown Live.

A decade ago, Jeff Hardy was a top player on Smackdown. Much has changed since then, but Jeff can still be an essential get for the blue brand.

His inclusion in Raw’s six man tag team main event showed that Jeff Hardy is still a main event caliber performer.

Putting him on Smackdown would give life to main event scene that for a while, had to suffer from multiple Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal matches. The presence of AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Daniel Bryan should make Hardy’s stint on Smackdown compelling.

8. Randy Orton to Raw

Credit: WWE.com

When you talk about doing everything that there possibly is to do on one brand, the best example of this is Randy Orton.

Solely as a member of the Smackdown Live roster, Randy Orton has been a Tag Team Champion, a Royal Rumble winner, a WWE Champion, and most recently a United States Champion.

His WWE championship run was plagued by awkward booking, and Jinder Mahal matches ranging from underwhelming to god-awful. He has already had matches with just about every noteworthy name on Smackdown.

By moving to Raw, The Viper is afforded a refreshing change of pace and a constant presence on the flagship show.

9. Asuka to Smackdown

Credit: WWE.com

It was originally assumed that by declaring her intentions for the Smackdown Women’s Championship, Asuka would automatically be added to the Smackdown roster.

For some reason, that is not the case.

Nonetheless, Asuka has run through just about every woman on the Raw roster in record time. Keeping her there for another year would be much of the same given WWE doesn’t fall into the trap of making their previously unbeatable talents into chumps.

On Smackdown, there’s the possibility of a long-term storyline with Charlotte and a new set of women for her to obliterate.

10. Bobby Roode to Raw

The Glorious One’s run on Smackdown Live has been average at best.

Yes, he beat a former WWE Champion in a United States tournament final for the United States Championship. Yes, he has only been on Smackdown for eight months.

With that said, Bobby Roode has looked lost on Smackdown from the start in no small part to him inexplicably debuting as a face.

Heading over to Raw would give Roode a perfect chance to reclaim his entertaining NXT villainy and break out from the pack.

Whether in the Intercontinental or Universal title picture, a heel Bobby Roode would do wonders not only for himself but the Raw brand as a whole.